A Blue Collar requisition at Airbus is not filled at the moment it arrives. Most of the work happens before and after that point. ARTS Group has run this process for Airbus for more than 26 years. Below is what it looks like from one end to the other.
Blue Collar Recruitment at Airbus
Before the requisition arrives
Production rates move before job openings do. Rate ramp-ups, work package transfers and shift model changes are visible in advance to a partner working inside the programme.
ARTS Group builds the candidate pool against that forecast, not against the requisition. Mechanics, aircraft electricians and surface technicians are contacted, screened and documented while the positions still sit in planning.
Inbound applications are reactivated on a fixed cycle. A Fluggerätmechaniker who declined a role 18 months ago is often available now.
Day one: the requirement lands
Airbus specifies trade, qualification level, site and start date. The number is rarely one. A rate increase brings a block of positions at once.
ARTS Group matches against the existing pool first. Candidates already screened and documented can be presented within the first days rather than the first weeks.
Open positions are placed publicly in parallel, tailored per platform, because a pool alone does not cover peak volume.
Weeks one and two: qualification review
Documented training decides deployability. Drilling and riveting, torque application, EWIS, ESD handling, FOD awareness and Human Factors are verified against certificates, not against CV wording.
Certificates that have expired are identified here, not on the shop floor.
Candidates who match technically but hold gaps in documentation are routed to refresher training through the ARTS Group network where the schedule allows it.
The clearance window: the longest step
Security-relevant areas at German aviation sites require a background check under §7 LuftSiG. Processing time sits with the authority. Neither the client nor the staffing partner shortens it.
ARTS Group files clearance applications immediately after candidate confirmation and runs contract preparation alongside, not afterwards.
Candidates receive the expected waiting period at first contact. Silence during this phase is the main reason candidates accept an offer elsewhere.
First shift: handover to production
The mechanic arrives with valid certificates, completed clearance and a signed contract. Site induction, PPE and shift assignment are coordinated with the Airbus team before the start date.
Documentation is complete and traceable at handover, which is what an EN 9100 audit checks.
During the assignment
ARTS Group stays in contact with placed staff throughout the deployment. Around Hamburg, Bremen, Stade, Nordenham and Donauwörth the same mechanics are approached by competing providers every month, and conditions are compared openly among colleagues.
Where Airbus adjusts deployment conditions mid-assignment, ARTS Group presents alternative deployment options inside the Airbus network rather than leaving the candidate with the restriction.
After the assignment
Each staffing round is reviewed on three points: clearance duration, drop-out stage and qualification gaps in the pool.
The results move the pool building for the next rate step. This is the loop that keeps the process ahead of the requisition instead of behind it.
Blue Collar and White Collar run separately
ARTS Group staffs both segments for Airbus under different processes. White Collar recruitment for project and process management roles follows its own approach, driven by individual profile depth rather than volume and clearance timing. Read about White Collar recruitment for Airbus here.
Reach out to our team directly for current Blue Collar staffing requirements.
FAQs pour le recrutement de cols blancs chez Airbus
For more than 26 years. ARTS Group runs the whole process, from building the candidate pool before a requisition arrives through to follow-up after the assignment ends.
Mainly aircraft mechanics, aircraft electricians and surface technicians, at qualification levels and sites set by Airbus.
Usually within the first days rather than the first weeks. ARTS Group builds its pool against Airbus production forecasts, so screened and documented candidates are often ready before the position opens.
Drilling and riveting, torque application, EWIS, ESD handling, FOD awareness and Human Factors. They are checked against certificates, not CV wording. Expired certificates are found during screening, not on the shop floor.